Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2008
Latest action · Oct 3, 2008 Referred to the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 30, 2008
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 to reauthorize appropriations for the Select Agent Program, which lists and controls biological agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety. Requires appropriate training of individuals handling or using such agents and toxins.
Includes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) among the federal agencies limited in the disclosure of information related to listed agents or toxins.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to review and make recommendations for improving the Select Agent Program.
Sets forth additional factors that the Secretary must consider in determining whether to list an agent or toxin, including whether the agent or toxin is endemic to the United States.
Requires the Secretary to issue guidance on inventorying and monitoring listed biological agents.
Directs the Attorney General to issue guidance regarding the scope of the statutory definition of "variola virus."
Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop guidelines for how laboratories and laboratory personnel that do not regularly test for listed agents and toxins may be rapidly accessed and utilized during emergencies; and (2) evaluate national needs of, and oversight of, high containment biological laboratories.
Provides for the development of minimum standards for laboratory biosafety and biosecurity training for relevant personnel of high containment biological laboratories.
Requires the Secretary to establish a Biological Laboratory Incident Reporting System.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jul 30, 2008.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-MI | Mike Rogers | Original | Jul 30, 2008 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Jul 30, 2008 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Jul 30, 2008 | |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Jul 30, 2008 |
| Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee | Referred Oct 3, 2008 | |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jul 30, 2008 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 3, 2008Referred to the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture.
- Jul 30, 2008Introduced in House
- Jul 30, 2008Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1623)
- Jul 30, 2008Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Jul 30, 2008Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1623 | Jane Harman D-CA | Jul 30, 2008 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3127 | Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2008 | Identical bill | Jun 12, 2008 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To reauthorize the Select Agent Program by amending the Public Health Service Act and the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 and to improve oversight of high containment laboratories.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Select Agent Program and Biosafety Improvement Act of 2008
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Authorization
- Biological research
- Biological warfare
- Communicable diseases
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Department of Homeland Security
- Economics and Public Finance
- Emergency Management
- Emergency medicine
- Employee training
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Governmental investigations
- Health
- Labor and Employment
- Laboratories
- Medical laboratories
- Research and development facilities
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Security measures
- Smallpox
- Standards
- Terrorism
- Toxicology
- Virus diseases
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 30, 2008Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
